Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are cylindrical carbon molecules with unusual properties that make them useful in a wide variety of applications. CNTs have been used in electronics, optics, and nanotechnology, as well as other fields of material science. They exhibit unusually high strength as well as excellent electrical properties, and are also heat conductors.
The diameter of a typical nanotube is a few nanometers (approximately 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair), and they are generally much longer than they are wide.
There are numerous methods of producing carbon nanostructures. The most commonly used methods include arc discharge and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). While other methods are known, the cost of manufacturing carbon nanostructures is still disproportionately high. Most known methods require a metal catalyst to produce the carbon nanostructures, and this requirement involves more complicated production processes. Metal catalysts may also contaminate the carbon nanostructures that are produced. Furthermore, current carbon nanostructure manufacturing processes require temperatures in excess of 600 degrees Celsius, and this leads to increased manufacturing costs. Although methods known in the art are capable of producing large quantities of nanotubes, the high costs involved preclude large-scale manufacturing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved or alternative processes for manufacturing carbon nanostructures.